


I Won't Always Be There To Save You

by morbid_solemn



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3557993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morbid_solemn/pseuds/morbid_solemn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the War of the Sanctuaries leaves the Irish Sanctuary in a state of weakened authority, The Supreme Council has returned with another reason to battle to Sanctuary. Negotiations are made, and the Sanctuary has been given a limited amount of time to find and stop Darquesse's evil reign. "I Won't Always Be There to Save You" tells the tale of the team Skulduggery Pleasant recruits, the vague planning and the rather large amount of improvisation that went into the making of this mission. Along the way, members Dexter Vex and Saracen Rue finally come to terms with their unlabeled and unspoken relationship. Like a flower growing between concrete, their relationship can only last so long in impossible circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this story was posted prematurely, and is still undergoing work. I would reccomend bookmarking this work and reading anytime after April first, 2015.

Bullets whizzed past Saracen's head. He ducked under a sword, and came up with his own piercing his assailant's torso. The man stepped back, his hands covering the wound, trying and failing to keep the blood from pouring out of his body. The warm red liquid dripped from his hands and pooled at the ground. Saracen was frozen in his place, staring the man who was deemed impossible to vanquish. So caught up in his achievement, he completely missed the fireball that was flying at him, and the British sorcerer who had thrown the damn thing.

Before he could move out of the way, Vex leaped and pushed Saracen out the way, with one hand stretched out as purple energy sought out the British sorcerer. Vex got up and held his hand out for his friend. Saracen got up, and Vex blocked a punch, and sent one of his own into the mage's gut.

An arrow that Saracen had dodged sent him back-to-back with Vex.

"You have to focus, Saracen. You have to pay attention to your surroundings." Vex said, teaching a lesson that Saracen already knew.

"Yeah, but that's what I've got you around for, isn't it?" Saracen grinned. Vex used a fallen sword to block another.

"I won't always be there to save you, you know." Vex's teeth gritted and as his strength channeled into the block.

"You won't?" Saracen said, sarcastically, as another arrow almost hit him. He ran, and had to dive onto the ground to avoid it. Where were these bloody arrows coming from? As he turned onto his back, he saw a man in sunglasses flash him a white-toothed grin.

Billy-Ray Sanguine.

He leaned the bow against his shoulder. "Saracen. You're lookin' well."

***

Skulduggery was quiet. Saracen had noticed that Skulduggery was always quiet after the loss of Valkyrie. The previous events, Ghastly's and Anton's deaths, Ravel's betrayal, and Valkyrie losing her war with Darquesse, had sent him back to his old self. He was more violent, more ruthless, more bloodthirsty. Valkyrie had once been his moral compass; someone to keep him on track and someone to help him avoid as much bloodshed as possible.

But Skulduggery was his previous self now, with his only goal being to save Valkyrie. He wouldn't admit this, but the others knew, and this worried Saracen.

"After hunting down the God Killer weapons, you hid them instead of destroying them, and they've been in your possession ever since." Skulduggery leaned forward, his empty eye sockets staring at Sanguine. "Is that what you're telling me?"

"I guess so," Sanguine shrugged. "I'm just gonna give y'all the weapons. That's what I've decided." Around the small conference room, all eyes turned to Sanguine. "I've decided I don't want the end of the world. Doesn't suit me."

"So while there's another war with the Supreme Council, and Darquesse roaming the world, you're just giving us the weapons? If the end of the world isn't good for you, why don't you stop it?" Vex asked.

Sanguine smiled. "I guess we'll never know, am I-"

"No. It's Tanith, isn't it?" Skulduggery said from where he had been standing. "She loves Darquesse, but you don't. Like you said, you don't want the world to end. But she can't know that. Because then she wouldn't want to have anything to do with you." Sanguine's jaw clenched. "Don't worry," Skulduggery said, now facing Sanguine. "We won't tell her. You can be our spy."

***

When Dexter returned to the battle field, it seemed as though a bomb had gone off. The area was desolate, completely empty of people and weapons, only blood splattered the ground. Trenches seemed to have been dug opposite the Sanctuary. A man rose up out of one, standing as tall as he could and trying his best not to shake.

"Supreme Council member Illori Reticent is here to negotiate with the Irish Sanctuary's Grand Mage China Sorrows under the conditions of a classic standstill." Dexter looked at Saracen to ask of his opinion as of what their next move should be, but he found Saracen with an equally confused expression. Saracen shrugged and pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Skulduggery. 

Within just a few moments, Reticent was led from the battle field to China's office.

***

China was seated at her desk, not bothering to rise for the power that now sat opposite herself. She looked down at Illori. This was her office and if Illori was here within only a few hours of the battle, it had to mean that her forces wouldn't last any longer. Her smile was a smirk that disguised itself as a welcoming smile.

"Illori, it's so great to see you." China began.

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same. I see that your army won't last much longer and-"

"I'm sorry? Skulduggery Pleasant leads my 'army'. I assume no more needs to be said on that, as your face shows much distaste. This isn't even a fourth of my army," China lied, her voice remaining as smooth as ever, Illori not catching on for a second. "If you want to negotiate, then you're the one who can't hold out. Please don't come into my office and insult my intelligence." China eyes were sharp icicles. "If you want to negotiate, then let's start."

Reticent grimaced. "The Supreme Council is willing to offer you the space of the next two months to find and capture Darquesse. You can detain her, and if you can stop her without killing her, that will be fine, too." 

"We are talking about the highly-feared, mass-murdering, foretold-to-destroy-the-world, sorceress, correct? And you expect us to utterly destroy her within two months?" China laughed. "Illori, as much as it pains me to admit it, we both know you're smarter than that." Her face turned to stone. "Five months."  
The muscles on Reticent's face strained. "Fine."


	2. Chapter 2

Saracen stood at the edge of the wall overlooking the ongoing fighting.

"Here we are again. Fighting another war in Roarhaven." Vex said, as he rested his hands on the wall.

"When did it all get so complicated? It was just a few months ago that we were just entering this Sanctuary." Saracen said now looking at Vex.

"And now the Supreme Council is back at our throats because of this Darquesse mess." Vex keep his gaze forward. Fletcher appeared behind them.

"Ready to go?" He asked. They linked up, and suddenly they were in an alley. Sounds of the war drifted to their ears.

"Okay, Sanguine said he'd give us the other weapons in the pub next to us. There's a chance he'll tunnel out before he does, leading us into a trap."

Fletcher frowned. "Who'd attack us in the trap? I doubt that anyone would team up with him."

"Can we please focus here?" Vex said, obviously irritated that Fletcher had found a flaw in his plan. "Anyway Fletcher, you're our quick escape."

"How do we know he didn't have someone draw sigils on the pub walls to stop Fletcher from teleporting?" Saracen asked.

"Because," Vex said as he walked from the alley to the pub door, "we know the owner." As he spoke, they caught sight of Sanguine talking to a rather beautiful woman.

"Wait so you're tellin' me that that head Nye had," Sanguine had to stop to let out a chuckle. "Was you?" The woman's face flushed red and her fists were clenched.

"He put me in the wrong body!" She pressed. This only seemed to make Sanguine laugh harder.

"Can you believe this guy?" Sanguine laughed. Impossibly, the woman's face turned redder.

"Scapegrace," Saracen said, walking over to the woman. "Could you attend to something... Somewhere else?"

"Anything to help the Sanctuary." Scapegrace nodded and walked off. They turned their attention to Sanguine.

"Where are the weapons?" Vex asked. Sanguine placed a large duffel bag on the table he was sitting at. Saracen picked up the dagger. A year ago, Saracen and Vex were hunting this very same dagger down.

"Well, I guess I'll be defecting now." He said.

"Not so fast." Fletcher said.

"You have news about where Tanith's going to be." Saracen said.

"I ain't spillin' those beans. If I do, y'all will imprison her, and I can't let that happen."

"And if you don't tell us, we'll tell her you don't share her views on Darquesse. And we certainly won't forget about you handing us the God-Killers." Vex said. Fletcher grabbed the bag before Sanguine could and teleported out of sight.

"She's gonna try an' free them Remnants from that Soul Catcher." Fletcher appeared next to Vex and Saracen and they were gone with a soft whump.


	3. Chapter 3

The conference room was filled with an uneasy silence. The silence bugged Aurora and tested her patience. Fletcher had teleported her from California saying that she was needed for an important mission, and she wasn't going to let her time be wasted by silences.

"Alright," she started. "What happened? Why did Fletcher teleport me here?"

"We have reason to believe that Tanith plans to release all the Remnants from the Soul Catcher." Skulduggery said.

"And what she plans she usually achieves." Saracen muttered.

"Well do we know when she plans to do it?" Aurora asked.

"No. We don't," Vex turned to show a tied up Sanguine. "But he does." Vex ripped the duct tape covered Sanguine's mouth off.

"You can't do this!" He screeched. "You said I go free!"

"Yes, but we lied." Skulduggery said. "Now, when is Tanith going to the MacGillyCuddy Reeks?"

"I ain't gon' tell you that." Sanguine said, visibly calmer.

"We already know that you're going to tell us. So let's just skip this annoying denial phase." Vex stated.

"What annoying phase?" Sanguine feigned innocent.

"The phase of denial. He just said it, idiot." Saracen said.

"Wait." Skulduggery walked closer to Sanguine. "He's trying to stall. Tanith must already be there." Sanguine's jaw clenched. "And that is a very obvious tell, Sanguine."

***

"Can you make it wider?" Aurora asked a petite black-haired girl. The girl nodded and a hazy image of the Receptacle widened when her hands moved. "Okay, Tessa. Now darker. Darker. Okay, too dark. Perfect. A bit shinier. Now a sprinkle of dust." Aurora held her chin with her hand and studied the image closely.

"What do you think?" She asked. Skulduggery stepped beside her. He compared the image to the actual Receptacle that was a few feet before it.

"A coating of dust. And now strengthen the image." Tessa stretched her hands out and in, up and down. Her eyes closed and scrunched up in concentration. She began whispering in a language unknown and as the incantations grew louder, the image grew sharper.

"Wow. It looks like the actual thing." Fletcher said. "Great job, Tessa." Tessa returned the compliment with a polite smile.

"Careful you don't mix them up." Vex joked. Skulduggery ignored his joke and walked until both Receptacles were in front of him. He splayed his hands and the ground rumbled. A jagged barrier of cavern rock raised and divided the two Soul Catchers.

"Now we wait. Tessa, stay over there. Fletcher, her power can stay up momentarily without her, so if she is attacked, you can teleport her elsewhere in the cavern. Saracen and Dexter, you're in the other corner. Aurora and I will stay at the entrance. We'll read the air and inform you if anyone comes near. Tanith should be alone; no one would be insane enough to go with her. Our job is to detain and capture her if we can. Nye says that it may be able to cure her. It's what Ghastly would have wanted." Vex nodded respectfully, and they got into position. A sharp turn of the head from Aurora 15 minutes later sent them into fighting positions. And Fletcher readied himself for the fight of his life...

***

Tanith lashed out and her boot connected with a Cleaver's helmet sending it shooting into the ceiling. Fletcher watched as the Cleaver caught his helmet with one hand as it made its downward approach.

"You can't keep me here!" Tanith exploded. Her mood shifted instantly. Her lips stretched into an eerie smile and black veins slithered across her features. "I will escape, you know. I will. I'll find a way. Or Sanguine will get me. You know he could get past your defenses."

"Actually," Vex started, "I've been wondering. During our God-Killer Weapons dash, why didn't you two just burrow out of the English Sanctuary?" Saracen picked up the story.

"There had to be something keeping Sanguine from tunneling out. So we pulled a few strings and found the name of certain little critters who were chasing him through the ground. No offense, but they're quite secret, I hope you don't mind me with holding that information."

"Not at all." Tanith had a tight smile to match her voice.

"We then had the whole system installed here, with China's approval, of course. Her being the new Grand Mage." Tanith hid her surprise well, but not well enough for Skulduggery.

"Oh you didn't know. I wonder, how long have you been out of the loop?" He tilted his skull. "Possibly long enough to miss that Nye now has a theoretical way to separate Tanith's soul from you, the Remnant." Her smile, veins, and black lips that covered her disappeared as her body went limp. They were rounding the corner to the Gaol now.

"No. There's no way. We're bonded now. No!" She screeched as she was thrown into a cell. The two Cleavers remained where they were. Skulduggery began walking out and Vex and Saracen followed suit.

The next few hours dragged by slowly. Tanith sat in her cell quietly. Trying to escape would be no use. But scheming... Oh she was already busy with that. A noise, like a strangled cat, reached her ears. Her cell door opened and a shadow loomed over her. Her eyes went wide and she spoke in awe.

"Darquesse."


	4. Chapter 4

Vex wringed his hands and cracked his knuckles and twidled his thumbs. The bell of the coffee store rang as Aurora walked in.

"What is it, Dexter?" She said as she sat down. "What's up?" Vex breathed in, and breathed out.

"I-I need some help."

***

"While your service and undying love for me has been quite pleasing, I must fix you." Darquesse smiled gently. Just a moment ago, Tanith had a smile that almost split her face in two. Now the smile was a fearful frown.

"No. Please, Darquesse. I-I love you." She whispered.

"I know. But I must. Think of it as a sacrifice. For me."

"But I'll never see the world burn." Tanith looked up at Darquesse so hopefully, so lovingly. Darquesse grew tired of this Remnant. She tried being nice, but now she was quite annoyed.

She looked past Tanith's skin, past her organs, past her bones. She saw a bright white and black sphere. It reminded her of a 3-D Yin and Yang symbol. She reached out with her magic, a glowing tendril of sparkling shimmering of the unknown. It snaked into Tanith, and the specimen stood straight with rigid pain. She gurgled a strangled remark that Darquesse ignored. She was powerful, of course, but even Darquesse needed concentration to preform the impossible while submerging her and Tanith into a soundproof, invisible bubble. Luckily, this cell was covered except for a single slot.

The tendril slipped in between the black and white, and it circled around the Remnant. Tanith screamed as black veins covered her body and her lips turned pitch black. The tendril transformed into a bubble which heated and burned until the Remnant evaporated. Her lips and body turned pale and she dropped, limp.

Darquesse used her shadows to break the iron wall again and walked out. The shadows held the broken pieces in place and black flames engulfed the cell wall, melting the wall back together. She then turned the moisture of the air to ice, that cooled the wall. She walked out of the Sanctuary, her invisible bubble working perfectly.

A buzzing made itself known in Darquesse's mind. No, Valkyrie's mind. No. Darquesse struggled for control again.

"I cured Tanith. Happy? Now stop." Darquesse thought. This is what she had amounted to now. Having to bargain with the lesser side of her mind. A sword sliced through her meat and Darquesse screamed. This recent war between her and Valkyrie had delayed her plans on destroying the Sanctuaries. While experimenting with her new powers there had been some casualties, and the Sanctuaries had been using those deaths to track her. And she couldn't afford these obstacles in her experimental phase.

"Can't hide." The buzzing voice came again. Darquesse fought back another murderous headache. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew Valkyrie was getting stronger.

"I cured her!" She steamed. "Isn't that good enough?!"

"Never enough." Came a whisper. This wasn't good. Buzzing was one thing, but whispering? She was advancing with this far too fast. Then would come speaking, then yelling, then commanding and controlling. Darquesse couldn't allow that.

She propelled into the sky, her dark hair whipping widely around her young face. Had she been anywhere else, she would have been regarded as the 19, almost 20, year-old young woman that she was. But here, amidst the sorcerers she had grown used to, she viewed as the almighty sorceress that she was. She was prophesied to burn the world to a crisp and these people feared her like they should have.

"Won't happen." The whisper was no longer a rasp; it was firm and warning and it rattled through Darquesse's brain.

"Yes," she thought, "it will. I've changed my mind. This world has become an annoyance. An irritating insect that has no place in my plans. I'm going to open the portal to the Faceless Ones, not soon after that. Think of this world as a sparring ground. It'll be quite the battle, won't it? Me against those so-called gods. I just can't wait!" She said excitedly as she dived to the ground.

Judging by the icy air that caressed her face, Darquesse knew she was in Russia. Where exactly was far beyond her concerns. She used the air as an axe, cutting the the tree trunks to form a large pile. The shadows, eager to serve her, carved the trunks and placed them, forming a small log cabin. It was very compact, and had a a flat roof, but she only had to stay there for the night.

In her mind, there was a room that was completely empty, but at least Valkyrie wouldn't be able to hear her in here.

She knew that that "burning the world to crisp" speech was far too much for her. Not with Valkyrie nipping at her heels. Somehow, she was stopping her, slowing her down. But she couldn't stop Darquesse forever. One day, she'd destroy the world. One day, Valkyrie's small voice would truly be gone. One day, this mind, this body, this person, would truly be hers.

But when was this day? Would it be before or after someone found a way to stop her? Would it be before or after Valkyrie took control, even for a few minutes, to lock Darquesse up in her mind, grab a sword, and cut off her own head? Darquesse couldn't take those risks. She had to act fast. Otherwise, her whole plan would fall apart.

And that's when she heard it. The low rumbling that boomed outside of her impenetrable room. The thundering that resulted with a crack in the wall of Darquesse's precious room.

"Valkyrie's knows," she thought. "Valkyrie knows and she going to kill me." And Darquesse now knew what it was like for the sorcerers to have seen her before. She knew and felt the emptiness that was filled quickly in her gut. She knew what she was feeling now that she was in the gaze of her murderer, the one who would bring about her death. And it was something she had never felt before.

***

Long pale fingers brought a flashlight to Tanith's eyes, and Doctor Nye used his other hand to pull her eyelids open. The light shined in her eyes, but she made no movement.

"She is still unconscious, but I believe she's in a coma. Her soul looks intact, as there is no Remnant present. Other than a high blood pressure, she's perfectly healthy." Nye said in its high, gender-less voice.

"It seems Darquesse took the bait." Skulduggery said.

"How did you know it was going to work?" Fletcher asked. In his opinion, plans like these usually went horribly wrong and ended in bloodshed.

"I didn't. But I knew Darquesse had the magic to pull it off, and if she saved China from death, I thought that maybe she'd help Tanith, given the right circumstances." As Skulduggery finished, Fletcher noticed a light tapping on the tile floor.

"So you simply thought she'd be nice enough to stop by?" China Sorrows stepped into the Medical Bay in an emerald green dress that was tight but not showy, that could only be worn by the the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Grand Mage Sorrows," Vex, unlike Fletcher, was able to effortlessly stay on topic, completely unfazed by her beauty. "It's good to see that you're simply nice enough to stop by." China smiled and Fletcher fought hard to keep his feelings in his mind.

"My meetings always have ulterior motives. I was wondering how the search for Darquesse was going. The sooner we find her, the sooner this ridiculous war can be over. She is the reason we're back at war with the Supreme Council, only five months after the last one."

"But you have to admit," Aurora pipped up. "You guys did cover up Valkyrie's secret identity pretty well back then."

"Yes, well, we have a war on our hands, despite our greatest efforts, and I do need a group of people insane enough to try and take down Darquesse. Tanith is on that list, which is the only reason why I allowed you to let Darquesse go. That and the fact that she would have completely obliterated you without the God-Killers."

"Speaking of which, where are they?" Skulduggery asked.

"We can't believe that the weapons haven't been tampered with, especially since they were brought in by Billy-Ray, so we had to have them tested. Anyway, Tanith's health is an obvious factor in this mission." She turned to Nye. "Keep me updated with her, and make sure she has your full attention. Do anything and everything to get her out of this coma." She didn't wait for reply, she simply walked out of the room.

"Fletcher, it's important that a friendly face greets Tanith when she wakes up. Stay here. And Fletcher, you're still drooling." Skulduggery walked away, leaving Fletcher to wipe away the drool, and Vex and Aurora.

"So. Ya gonna do it now?" She smiled.

"Yeah. Uh, no. Why am I telling you?" Vex realized.

"Um, I don't know, maybe because you asked me to help you with this? Dexter don't worry. It'll be fine." Aurora grabbed his arm and began dragging him down the hallway. "You know he's a nice guy. Just tell him what you told me. You'll be fine." And with those words she pushed him to a door and Vex stood nervously rigid. "Relax. He's your friend, Dexter. There's no reason for you to be scared." The look on Vex's face made Aurora sigh. "Trust me; it won't be awkward. Now go." She walked away, leaving Vex with a petrified face.

His hand hovered in front of the door. Should he knock? What if it all goes terribly wrong? No. He knew he had to knock. He couldn't let everything get away from this time. Not like last time, all those years ago. He knew he wouldn't let that happen. So he knocked. And so Saracen opened the door with a bright grin, welcoming his old friend into his office, completely unaware of what was to come. It didn't take Saracen long to realize that his friend was weary.

"Saracen, we need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Saracen gestured to a chair that Vex then pulled out to sit down in. The room they were in was pale, as it was a only a temporary office room for Saracen. There were two large filing cabinets that flanked Saracen's desk, with a picture of the Dead Men on the wall above it. Skulduggery was right in the middle, Ghastly and Anton on either sides of Ravel, and Vex and Saracen on the left side. Vex vaguely remembered that, but he did remember one thing.

"Dexter what's wrong?" Saracen asked, snapping him out of his gaze.

"I remember when we took that picture. No one wanted to smile for it, but Skulduggery said something stupid and we all-"

"Shut up. Dexter I know you well enough to know when you're stalling. Now what the hell is bad enough for you to stall with me?" Saracen was sitting on another chair on the same side of his desk so he was level with Vex. He inhaled and let the breath out slowly, still stalling.

"D'you remember 20 some years before the war ended? You were poisoned and dying?" Saracen nodded, allowing Vex to continue. "Do you remember how you got there? To Kenspeckle at the hospital?"

"Well, yeah. Erskine threw me on the back of that horse and-"

"No." Vex insisted.

"No?" Saracen questioned.

"Erskine's horse was killed. It fell from under him; it's what broke his leg. That's why he was at the hospital with you. I remember Vengeous' men were trying a prototype sword that had a poisoned handle when it was dropped. You grabbed it," Vex stopped to let out a low chuckle. "Like an idiot. And you dropped instantly. At the time, I didn't know why, but I ran to help you. Even though two of his men were beating me senseless. After I grabbed you, Erskine broke his leg. Skulduggery grabbed him and we ran you both to the hospital.

"Skulduggery wanted to stop and get a horse; he said it'd be faster, but you were dying." Saracen stared at Vex. He was looking off at his side, reliving that day. Saracen should have known. Ever since that day Vex looked at him differently. Vex looked at him with more concern, and he was much more careful around him. He should have know that it was Vex that had saved him. "And I couldn't take that risk. I didn't know why I was panicking so much. In fact, I didn't even question it until the next day when I was sitting in the hospital waiting for you to be conscious."

"You just left the battle like that?" Saracen asked.

"By nightfall the battle had ended. I stayed a week with you, but you just didn't get up. I was so worried that you had died. I stopped and thought about what had happened that day. I ran all that way on just worry that you were dead. That day in that hospital I realized something that explained that." Vex stopped. He had just been stating facts. Just the actual story behind what had happened. But now he had to say it. He couldn't put it off any longer.

"I wanted to tell you about it then, but Skulduggery came back and told me that the Keep was under siege. I had to leave and I never had the chance to tell you." His voice dropped to a soft whisper. "But with this Darquesse suicide mission... I just wanted you to know."

Saracen knew letting Vex finish would involve a lot of stuttering and stalling. But he also knew that if he had misinterpreted Vex's speech this would be very awkward. But Saracen was pretty sure which was good enough for him.

He grabbed the collar of Vex's shirt with both hands, rolled it up in his fists, and pulled him into him. Saracen's lips were gentle, but strangely rough. Vex's lips were cement, unmoving and very much shocked. It took him a moment to relax into the kiss and loosen up, but when he did, he caught up with it and he pushed forward as Saracen pulled back. The kiss persisted and now Vex was on top with Saracen down between his legs.

***

Skulduggery walked down the hall. He had some friends who owed him favors. Maybe some of them would be insane enough to fight Darquesse. He walked past a room and stopped. No. It couldn't be. Not now of all these years. He cautiously walked to the next door. After knocking with no reply, he turned the knob to find that the door was unlocked.

"Aurora sorry t-" He noticed that the headphones she was using to listen to music was leaking the sound of My Chemical Romance into the room. "Aurora. Aurora." She looked up and realized Skulduggery was standing there.

"Oh, hi. Can I help you with something?" She asked pulling the headphones off and pausing her music.

"Actually, it's a bit of an odd question. I can see by that overly loud music that you've noticed that Saracen has... company next door. Is that, by any chance..." Skulduggery trailed off.

"Dexter? Yeah, honestly, he gave me a head's up by asking me for some advice." Skulduggery sagged. "Why?" She asked noticing his unpleasant mood.

"I may have lost a bet."

"You bet on them?!" Aurora laughed. "With who?"

"You can hear all about it from China." He mumbled. On his way out, Aurora's laughter echoed in his ears. It was almost as loud as Dexter and Saracen, which, in Skulduggery's opinion, was wonderful.

"Grand Mage." Skulduggery said as he knocked. "China."

"Come in." China's elegant voice was heard outside of the door. She had finally gotten Tipstaff to ignore certain Administrator Rules, like allowing people to see her in her office, and she was enjoying it. "Yes?" She questioned with a smile when she saw Skulduggery. "You've heard it, then? Ah yes, you have. Good. You can pick me up at 8 tonight. I've already set the reservation. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you to dress elegantly?"

"Yes. Of course." Skulduggery mumbled. China was sitting on her desk and she grabbed Skulduggery's tie with one hand to pull him in close to kiss.

"Skulduggery, darling, you've just earned yourself a date with me."


	6. Chapter 6

Vex blushed as Aurora's cackling bled through the walls. He backed off, breathless, slowly sitting back in his seat. Saracen stared ahead, awestruck. Finally, he made eye contact with Dexter.

"Dexter. Wow." He stated. Dexter flushed and turned bright red. Saracen leaned forward. "You know," he whispered. "Blushing like that only makes you cuter." And as he winked, Saracen could've swore the redness spread to every corner of Dexter's face. He leaned in even closer and kissed Dexter once on the lips before saying "You should really stop that".

"Saracen. Don't you think we should pick a better place to uh do this? Instead of in an office?" Vex said quietly.

"With the way you keep blushing, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to leave here." Saracen smirked, his voice low. Vex looked at him, sheepish and worried.

"Saracen, please."

"If it really bothers you we can leave. Don't worry." Saracen's voice was quiet and matched Dexter's. Vex nodded and they got up and walked out of the small office, and Dexter was red faced and nervous. Saracen, however, was brighter than ever, grinning wildly. He had heard other people talking about Dexter, and he knew just how jealous they would be to see that Dexter was his. Saracen wasn't fond of showing off, but he knew his boyfriend was definitely something that was going to be known to other people. Saracen stopped. "Hey Dexter. Are we like, 'together' now?"

"Yeah, sure." Came the obviously distracted reply. Vex was visibly nervous as he checked that no one was in the hallway.

"Dex, no one's going care. You're just worrying too much." Saracen said, noticing his friend's worrying face.

"Yeah, but I heard Aurora lau-"

"Aurora wasn't laughing at you," the heart-shaped faced lady said walking in. "I was laughing at Skulduggery. He just got a date with China." Vex let out a breath of air that he hadn't known he was holding. Saracen grinned at Vex.

"Thank you." Vex sighed. He turned to see Saracen's grin and scowled. "Shut up."

"Okay, well, I'm guessing that you two are going to do something I really don't want to know about, so bye." Aurora began walking away, before either of the friends could practice their denial phase. Dexter sighed after a moment.

"Wanna go?" Saracen asked. Dexter nodded with a sheepish smile and a cherry red blush formed around his nose as they walked out of the Sanctuary doors. Saracen caught sight of Dexter's irresistibly cute blush. He grabbed his friend's shirt collar and pulled him down to a slow kiss. "You really should stop doing that." His voice was low and husky, only making Dexter's blush deepen.

***

Skulduggery fidgeted with this nervous fingers. He stopped, remembering that he didn't fidget. He was above that. He wasn't nervous about this date. Of course not. He was above being nervous on a date. However, he wasn't above being upset about losing a bet. An ego as fragile as his wouldn't be able to withstand such a blow.

China hadn't said a thing yet, but the smile that seemed to be seared onto her face said wonders.

"Skulduggery, darling, you haven't said a word in an hour and a half. Either you're going for a personal record, or your delicate ego has been fractured." China said, her lips, of a perfect shade of ruby red, moved even more perfectly. She smoothed down her dress, fingers containing nails of blood red that matched both her lips and her dress. Her hair was exquisitely curled from the middle of her hair. Every other person was staring, gawking, or ogling, at her. That is, everyone except for Skulduggery.

"I can't believe Dexter actually made a move." Skulduggery muttered. "After all these years..." Skulduggery's fingers closed together with a silent frustration. Skulduggery's facade was on, leaving him with a pair of green apple eyes, a perfect nose, dark pink lips, light golden freckles and his hair was of a dark blond. A face that China was quite fond of. "And did you happen to modify the facade? This face seems familiar." Skulduggery trailed off.

"I haven't a clue what you're on about." China said, a small smile playing on her face. She rested her head on a delicate hand. Skulduggery mumbled something else, and a waiter walked over to them, holding their menus in trembling hands.

"I l-love you." The waiter stuttered, dropping the menus. "I'm so sorry. So so sor-"

"That's quite alright," China laughed, putting on a smile hoping it silence him. It worked like a charm, they ordered and received their meals in 15 minutes, the chefs obviously overwhelmed by the glance they sneaked at the waiter's babbling.

Skulduggery stared at his Chicken Parmesan wishing that he had some sort of full body facade. China caught him looking at his food, and went cold thinking that this was all her fault. She was the one would killed his wife. She was truly the reason why Skulduggery had died and returned like this. She ripped through her steak, cursing herself for thinking like that. She didn't have to think like that. She had her reasons to justify what she did. She was China bloody Sorrows. She didn't need to think of that.

Skulduggery's wishes were cut off by his phone ringing. "Hello? He said what? And you trust him? You saw her, too?" His voice turned hard. Stone hard. "Where." It was more of a statement that a question. It didn't end with the same high tone that a question usually did. It ended with a bloodthirsty tone. He put his phone away and stood. "China, we have to leave." She rose slowly, looking deeply into the green eyes that he managed to turn dark.

A girl, no older than 17, walked up to Skulduggery, licking her lips nervously. "Uh, hi Mr. Ackles. C-Can I have your autograph?" Before Skulduggery could realize that when China fixed his tie she had changed the facade, and before he could see that she changed his facade to make the face identical to that of her favorite actor, she smiled saying: "I'll be in the car."

***

Just as Vex was fulfilling Saracen's wish of "going deeper and faster", just as Saracen was pushing his tongue further into Dexter's mouth, and just as the elderly couple next door was coming over to tell the two men to "cut out that infernal racket of unholy sounds", Dexter's phone lit up and bounced on his nightstand. He pulled away, and Saracen continued to let his hands search every space, every aspect of Vex's body.

"Leave it." Saracen said, his voice so low it was barely heard. He continued to kiss Dexter along his sharp jaw.

"Can't." Came the tight reply. He tried to reach a hand out to his phone, but Saracen grabbed his wrist, allowing his kisses to lead down Dexter's neck. He stopped, body rigid, and Saracen knew this was his neck was a place to remember. Dexter's held flew back, and he struggled to speak. "Saracen. Please. I c-can't. It might Skulduggery. I-It might be go time. For t-the mission." Saracen stopped.

"Screw the mission. We've been on the god damned mission for years. We've sacrificed more than anyone else. Let someone else take care of it for once. We finally find a little happiness and this suicide mission is going to take that away from us." Saracen said.

"Skulduggery had a family while he was in the war. A family. All we have is each other. Skulduggery lost both his wife and his child because of it. Now's not the time to be petty." Dexter said, sliding off of Saracen and pulling on his clothes.

"Well then maybe you should've told me earlier." Saracen mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Dexter raised an eyebrow. Saracen turned to face him.

"I said, maybe you should have told me earlier, that you loved me. So that we could fit the little things in, instead of rushing everything! But no! You had to bottle up your feelings like some kind of idiot that can't deal with them!"

"Are you telling me," Dexter stopped, half dressed, "that this is my fault?"

"Isn't it? You talked me into this mission. Everyone knows going up against Darquesse is suicide! We didn't have to go! After all we've done, don't you think we could leave this to Tanith, China, Frightening, and anyone else who didn't have to deal with the crap that we did?" His voice was softer when he finished, visibly calmer. Unfortunately, Dexter wasn't going to let this go.

"I can't believe how selfish you're being!" He laughed. "Skulduggery's lost everything! We owe to him to stand by him as his friends!"

"It's not being selfish, it's thinking of yourself! For once we have something. Are you really willing to lose it over this?" Saracen's voice cracked as he stared up at Dexter.

"Yes. I am. We've only been together for what? Six, seven hours? And we're already fighting. Saracen," Dexter paused.

"No. Don't." Saracen shook his head slowly.

"We have to face it."

"Please. Dexter, don't do this." He whispered, a wetness at his eyes.

"If it's this bad, this soon, it's not going to work out. You know it won't." Dexter said. "And if this is a suicide mission, then it's not like we have forever."

"Then please. Please humor me. Because I've wanted this for so long. I-I've just never known how to ask. How to be sure. But now I am. I'm sure that I love you." a tear rolled down his face. Then another. And another. "And I know you love me too." He whispered. "So please. Just stop talking like this. If we're going to die, at least let us be happy."

"I'm not going to let you die living a lie, Saracen." Dexter looked away. "I'm sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

Fletcher had arrived at the Sanctuary the moment Skulduggery called. He sat in the meeting room checking the time on his phone every 30 seconds, obviously bored. Fletcher wasn't used to waiting. He rarely had to do it, but when he did, he despised it. He had already asked Skulduggery if he could teleport everyone to the Sanctuary. He'd be back in minutes, he said, and time was tight. But Skulduggery had told him not to. Something about being mentally scarred for years to come. But Fletcher wasn't sure; he wasn't listening.

So here he sat, alone in the unbearably boring meeting room. Aurora walked in and sat down in one the chairs next to Fletcher. 

He turned to her. "Do you know where the rest of the group is?" Fletcher asked.

"Well, Tanith's probably getting some tests done in the medical bay, China's probably doing some Grand Mage stuff, and, trust me, you don't wanna know what Saracen and Dexter are doing." She said. Fletcher realized why Skulduggery had said he'd be scarred and cringed at the image that had now seared itself into his memory and Aurora laughed at his reaction. Aurora remembered that Tanith was now conscious, and because she is not a Remnant anymore, she would react badly to Ghastly's death. Fletcher watched her as she walked to Skulduggery, said something to him, and walked out of the room. He sighed; once again, he was alone in the room with only his boredom.

***

Dexter walked into the meeting room and was unusually quiet. Skulduggery also noticed that Saracen wasn't with him. If he had an eyebrow, it would most certainly have been raised. After a few minutes, Saracen walked in, stared at Dexter for a few minutes and then turned away after Dexter didn't even turn his head. A ping from Skulduggery's phone averted his attention from his two friends to his phone, and notified him that Aurora had sent him a text asking him to meet her in the medical bay. 

"Aurora needs me in the Medical Bay," Skulduggery said as he rose. Sensing that an emotional disturbance must have affected both Saracen and Dexter, he added, "Fletcher, you're in charge." The surprise registered on all the faces in front of him as he walked out.

***

"What are you talking about?!" Tanith spoke through gritted teeth, veins clearly visible, straining out against her skin. Her hand was in a tight fist and her hysteria was clear. Aurora was by her side with a gentle face and a protective bubble of air to avoid Tanith expelling her pain in a physical way. "He can't be dead. I just spoke with him." Doctor Synecdoche told Skulduggery as he came in that Tanith had no memory of the Remnant or what it had done. He walked past the doctor as soon as she had told him that Tanith was able to participate in the upcoming mission. 

"Tanith, he's gone. There's nothing we can do, we simply have to face it, accpect it, and move on. There is someone, however, we still have time to save, and to do that I need your help. Valkyrie-" Skulduggery began only to be cut off by Tanith.

"I don't care about saving anyone else." Tanith rasped at Skulduggery, the bulging veins inside her turning dark, turning grey, turning black. Her lips grew dark from a dull pink to a deep black. "I don't care about anyone." Came her throat-scratching reply, and Aurora's air bubble dissipated as shock forced her to step back. Skulduggery's hand blurred and his gun was pointed at Tanith's head. Nye ended the stand off as he steeped in from the back and stabbed a syringe into Tanith's neck, causing her to fall back onto her stretcher bed. An assistant came in and fastened the restraints that were recently undone.

Nye lowered his arm for the others to see the pale yellow liquid in the syringe he was holding. "A concoction I had found from the notes of Kenspeckle Grouse. It seems he had made a potion strong enough to tranquilize a Remnant. I had kept around ever since Tanith stepped foot into the Sanctuary."

"And you hadn't alerted the Sanctuary of this potion?" Skulduggery asked.

"No one asked, Detective." Came Nye's short reply. Skulduggery glared at him, but there were other matters that required his attention and he walked out, Aurora by his side.

"We need to get Valkyrie back. The Sanctuaries are already closing in on us. We need to get her back to show the other Sanctuaries that this Sanctuary can cleanup its own messes. If Tanith is too mentally unpredictable to cooperate with, we have to find a replacement and fast."

"Aurora, your concern is understandable, but I'm fairly certain we will be completely capable of bringing her back."

"Yeah, with what? A group of 5 people? And don't forget: Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan can't come either."

"I did say that most of the people attending this morning's were not here yet." Skulduggery opened the door of the meeting to reveal Necromancers, Billy-Ray Sanguine, Dusk and a large group of vampires. 

Aurora opened her mouth, spotted Sanguine in the crowd and walked up to him, anger rushing through her veins. She sent her fist to the side of his face, using the air around them to strengthen the blow and he fell when they connected.

"I never got a chance to thank you for shooting me, jackass." She spat at his unconscious body. She turned to Skulduggery. "Yeah, I think we can work with this."


	8. Chapter 8

Darkness spilled from Darquesse and gripped a necromancer's leg. The rope went taut, and his eyes went wide. The rope turned thin and sliced through his leg like it was nothing. His screams echoed through Darquesse's ears and her cackling was the only response. She left him to his misery, and sought to find her next victim. 

Something thumped inside Darquesse's head. The noise increased in sound and Darquesse flew into the air to avoid the people below to see her lose control. Her fingers dug into her head in a futile attempt to destroy the voice in her head. Valkyrie's voice, the dominant voice. No, Darquesse thought, not the dominant voice. She fought to remind herself that she was the dominant voice, but she couldn't seem to form the words, and she struggled to keep the voice in Valkyrie's head. No. My head. 

This was not going to be easy.

***

Skulduggery looked into the sky as Darquesse ascended, expecting to see her float down from another location in the sky. After a few moments, everyone noticed that she was no one to be found and silence was introduced. However, there was a Necromancer screaming about his leg. 

"Can someone please take care of that? It's sort of distracting and vaguely discomforting." Skulduggery said to the Necromancers, pointing to their fallen brother. One came forward and helped him to his foot and led him off of the battlefield. Another picked his foot up and walked off. "Thank you. I understand this may have been a it of an ambush-"

"A bit?!" Sanguine cried out. "Someone must have blabbed their mouth about this to that psychopath in black!"

"Please, Sanguine. We do not appreciate your negativity."

Saracen struggled to breathe evenly and raised a hand. "I do." He huffed. Dexter chuckled to himself, but Saracen looked over at him with hope, and his laughter stopped suddenly. Saracen looked down.

"Alright. We are going to take advantage of this sudden disappearance of Darquesse by planning ahead." Skulduggery looked around for someone to question him, and China answered his pleas.

"You do understand that she will over hear this and, therefore, know your plans, and ambush us again?"

"Well, if you look up to your far right, you can see a losing-control Darquesse swirling in the air in danger of falling after she loses control." The rest of the group looked up to the sky to see the spinning Darquesse. He pulled the long, golden, jeweled rod out of its black bag. "Thanks to Nye and his assistants, he was able to change a few things that made the Spectre special. For example, the Spectre can now be whielded by anyone, without having to kill its previous owner." So the moment anyone gets the chance or a clear shot, grab it and fire. However, if anyone feels the need to take the Spectre and leave," Skulduggery looked at Billy-Ray as he pulled a remote control out of his pocket. "I can and will detonate the microscopic bomb embedded in the Sceptre.

"I believe Valkyrie is currently gaining control of her body. So it's up to us to distract Darquesse and allow Valkyrie to gain her control. So, um, try to stay alive long enough for that to happen." To end his speech, Darquesse sent black lighting directly at their feet, and they scattered like ants, which caused Darquesse to laugh. This was going to be fun.

***

Valkyrie ran, through the hallways of Gordon's house. She was trapped in her mind, she told herself again and again, trying not to fall for Darquesse prank and unbelievable detail. There was a battle going on and she was the enemy. The lights went out and Valkyrie ran faster, her hair whipping around her face, and soon the wind cooled her skin. This was a house, how could there be wind? Now she was outside facing the ocean on the pier by her house. Melancholia was near her and babbling about how she was going to rip her apart. 

This was four years ago. She tried to run past her, but Melancholia stood in her way. Valkyrie swiped her arm past Melancholia, darkness slicing the blonde girl in half. Valkyrie was running too fast to notice the blood spilling on the ground. She ran further, faster, and she waved her hand to stop her hair from flying into her face. Suddenly darkness emerged in front of her, figure solidifying into Lord Vile. He threw black arrows at her, but her arms crisscrossed forming a shadow wall that collapsed on Vile. The wall dissipated and all that lay was Skulduggery.

Valkyrie's eyes widen as a sharp whispered "No" escaped her lips. Skulduggery's suit was tattered, his hat thrown to the side. His bones were cracked. He slowly turned his skull to her.

"You did this."

Skulduggery's bones turned to dust and Valkyrie fell to her knees, her fingers grazing the dust. Fires roared above her head, buildings burning, weakening, and collapsing. The sound of screams and the feeling of anguish was all around her, but she didn't care. She stared blankly at the dust and her hands soon found his hat. She looked at this Ghastly Bespoke creation, this sign, this symbol of the great Skeleton Detective. The tears slid down her cheeks, leaving a salty trail in their wake.

"No," she cried softly,"he can't be dead. Not him, not like this." The fire consumed the buildings, the town, and all that was left was Valkyrie, sitting on the ground crying silently to herself. The clicking of heels became known and Valkyrie rubbed her eyes and wiped her nose. She rose and turned to face Darquesse. She stared into her own dark eyes.

"You're nothing. You can't control yourself, let alone the power you wield." Valkyrie opened her mouth, a retort forming on her tongue. "You were the one who just killed Melancholia." Valkyrie shook her head. She hadn't killed Melancholia. She just pushed her aside. Melancholia was alive. "Really? So you didn't even have the time to turn around and check if she was okay after you used Necromancy to kill her?" No. Valkyrie shook her head. She hadn't killed anyone. "No? Now what about Aujoga? If you don't believe me, Fletcher and Skulduggery were there. Speaking of Skulduggery, you just killed him, too."

Darquesse stepped closer to Valkyrie. Valkyrie noticed her clothes a turning dark, dark, so dark that they looked like shadows, no, they were darkness. She looked down as the shadows swept her up, and she raised her hands and black lightening shot out of them. She looked down and saw Darquesse in her clothes that Ghastly had made for her. "You're the evil one!" She yelled over the sound of Valkyrie burning her own parents and Alice to a char. "You've killed your family and friends! You're evil! Do you see what you're doing?!"

"No! No! This-this- it's all wrong all of it! It's a trick! It can't be real!" In her panic and confusion, Valkyrie flew out, and her arms set fire to the closest thing to her. She could feel its cold death near her.

***

Darquesse flew down at Wreath, and he swung his cane, gathering shadows. Darquesse's eyes were on his cane, its cold death pulling her to him. Black lighting shot at him and Wreath's body fell to the ground, unmoving, but Skulduggery stared at Darquesse, gripping the Sceptre with tight hands. He looked her eyes, the same dark brown eyes he had seen eight years before. 

"Take me with you, or I'll stand on your hat." He could hear her say. His head tilted.

"You're taking my hat hostage?"

He returned to the unfolded nightmare, and froze. How could he destroy those eyes?

***

Valkyrie stopped. She had reached for Wreath. She had been able to gain control of her body. It wasn't impossible. She could do this, she could stop this. Darquesse seemed stunned, fumed, irritated, and depressed all in one. She couldn't let Valkyrie gain control. She wouldn't be locked away like before.

***

Dexter looked up from the ground on which he laid. He could see Skulduggery and Darquesse, but her back was turned on him. This was the luckiest moment of this entire battle, but Skulduggery was hesitating, Dexter knew this would happen, and knew he had to do something. In a split second Dexter ran, grabbed the Spectre out of Skulduggery's hands, and pointed it at Darquesse. She felt the air shift behind her, and turned quickly, but Valkyrie struggled for the controls to save Dexter's life. She gained control for a moment and black tendrils pushing Vex back instead of slicing him in half, but Darquesse raised a darker, stronger, spiked wall which he slammed into with great force. He can hear the crack of his breaking a leg and the squelch of his puncturing lung on the way. He lays on the ground, coughs once, and turns on his side to spit blood on the ground. Dexter lays his head on the ground, unable to move.

He sees Dexter on the ground, dying, and Saracen's voice is gone.


	9. Chapter 9

The darkness connects with Vex and Darquesse’s hand swipes up, and a jagged wall is there to catch Dexter. As soon as his back is stuck to the wall, his eyes go as wide as they can. As fast as the motion was, it happens slowly in front Saracen’s eyes. He feels as though he’s standing, simply staring at Vex, for an eternity. He runs faster than anyone thought he could, even with the extra weight wrapped tightly around his midsection.

“Dexter, hey, hey. Look at me.” He says picking Vex’s head up. “Why did you do that? Darquesse was right there.” He whispered harshly. "That was by far the dumbest thing you've ever done."

“She probably saw that coming a mile away.” Vex chuckled. "Are you kidding me? That was not the dumbest thing I've ever done."

“And you always say that I was careless.” Saracen smiled sadly. “What was it that you said to me a few days ago?”

“I won’t always be there to save you.” Vex managed to choke out. The blood stained his teeth as he smiled. Although it had felt like it, the battle had not frozen, and a tendril of shadows searched for Saracen. Dexter raised his hand weakly and a frail purple beam shot out of his hand long enough to cause the tendril to dissipate. Saracen was far too busy drinking in the image of his friend, his love, to watch his own back. “Saracen, really. This is the last time I’ll be able to save you.”

“What? You mean we won’t be doing this again?” The hope in his voice was heartbreaking for Dexter, and he knew he couldn't lie to his boyfriend. Not this time.

“Saracen, you know things. And I’m sure you know that I’m not going to make it out of this one.” Saracen’s eyes became watery and his expression was clearly confused. Saracen was a like a child who simply could not wrap his head around death. Of all the deaths of the people he had known, Saracen simply couldn't handle losing Dexter. 

“I only know random, pointless things. And this is definitely not pointless.” Saracen whispered.

“Please. I’m sorry for what happened before.” Saracen was shaking his head lightly. This didn't matter. None of this did. He had to get Dexter to a hospital like he had once done for him. “If anyone was going to die living a lie, it was me. But it’s time to change that. Saracen, I love you. I love you more than everything I've ever known. And I’ll miss you more than a drowning man misses oxygen. And I know this isn't nearly as great as you deserve, and I know I’m not nearly as great as you deserve, but I don’t think I could live without you.” He paused to chuckle. “But I guess I won’t have to deal with that for much longer.”

Saracen looked at him. “This is more than I could ever dream of, let alone deserve.” Dexter had a small smile playing on his face. His eyes lowered and then closed. Saracen stared intently at him, the smile on his own face slowly falling off. “Dexter. Dexter.” He shook him. “No. No, I love you. Hey, I need you to know. I love you!” He yelled it over and over and over, but the response was the same. “No! No!” Saracen screamed, tears racing down his face. His screamed until his voice turned rough, then coarse, then gone all together.

***

Valkyrie saw the black thick wall in front of her and reminded herself that his was her mind. She could imagine anything she wanted right here, right now. She closed her eyes and felt cold metal in her hands. It was Tanith's sword, the same sword she used to slash Sanguine with back on Aranmore farm. She slashed, and the wall doubled over, falling like Sanguine had, all those years ago. 

Another wall rose out of the ground, and Valkyrie felt another metal in her hands, and she dropped Tanith's sword, now she was holding a poker from the fireplace at Gordon's house. She stabbed the wall and it came apart like the sorcerer at Gordon's house, eight years ago. Soon a figure of shadows turned into Darquesse and Valkyrie felt a hand on her shoulder.

Skulduggery looked down at her. "Don't worry. Just run." He adjusted his head and cocked his head at Darquesse. He walked towards her and Valkyrie ran in the darkness. Hopefully, her vision of Skulduggery would hold Darquesse long enough for her to gain control and stop this. 

***

Saracen held Dexter close to his chest as the tears fell down his face, as his chest moved up and down to the beat of his choked sobs. Dexter was still in his death, but his shirt was stained with not only his blood but with the tears of Saracen. Slowly, his body was laid on the ground and Saracen rose. Darquesse was fighting a few of the necromancers, fire enveloped one of them, but she didn't seem to posses the concentration to aim precisely. Saracen knew she was distracted. 

"Skulduggery!" Saracen whispered to his friend. Skulduggery turned around. He didn't seem to notice how frail his voice sounded, or how puffy and red his eyes were from crying; but Skulduggery did.

"Saracen, I'm sorry about Dexter, but we have to fight now. We can mourn later." He didn't allow the memory of Valkyrie saying the same words to enter his mind. 

"I know. I have an idea." Saracen knew what he was going to do had a severely high fatality rate. But nothing mattered if Dexter wasn't with him. 

***

His body aced and felt sore. There was a faint ringing in his ears, and his vision was slightly blurry. He struggled to remember where he was, but as soon as he felt the grass beneath his fingertips, he knew this field was the setting of battle. Who the enemy was remained a mystery, but this was soon solved when he caught sight of a burning necromancer. Memories of Darquesse evil, Skulduggery's orders, and the mission, came back to him all at once. And then Saracen returned to his memory. " Hey, I need you to know. I love you." He laid back down and thought about those words that had rang through his ears. "You don't have to tell me, you fool." Dexter thought, "I already know."

***

Darquesse saw Skulduggery and heard his yell against Saracen suicide plea. Saracen ran up behind Darquesse with the God Killer sword, and Darquesse knew Skulduggery was coming in from her right. She moved her hands lazily and Saracen's body fell apart at her slash. Dexter heard the sound and looked up. He screamed until he lost consciousness shortly after. The darkness gripped Skulduggery tightly and held him in the air.

"I'll kill him." Darquesse said to Valkyrie as her fingers grazed the main controls. Valkyrie stopped and stared at her. "Give in to me or he'll be dead." Valkyrie was close, but she couldn't risk another life. Enough blood was on her hands. She thought of the burning buildings, the dying people. She shut her eyes, fists gripping nothing, as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Alright. I'll give in." She whispered. "Just leave them alone."

Darquesse looked at her tenderly. "Of course." Her shoulders slackened, a smirk danced on her face, lights glowing in her eyes. Valkyrie ran in a moment and slugged Darquesse across the jaw. It was ugly, but it was fast and it hurt like hell. Just what she needed. She gained control and saw a fallen sword on the ground. She gripped in her hands and slipped it in before letting the word "Sorry" leave her mouth. Skulduggery was saying something to her, and soon he was at her side, speaking words. But she couldn't decipher them, she was using the last of her energy to stop Darquesse from saving her. 

***

Bright lights danced in Dexter's eyes, and caused his pupils to dilate. The sound of people talking, moaning, and screaming made themselves known in his ears. He groaned as he turned and rested on his side. His leg felt cool and he could see a mass of brown over it. Soon someone came over and wiped the mass away and tended to whatever injury was located on his leg. His torso and abdomen was bandaged tightly. The bandages were white and just replaced. He hadn't had bandages before, so he must be in a hospital. But why did he even need bandages in the first place? Was he in another fight? This theory was washed away as soon as he caught caught sight of Skulduggery walking towards him. His vision was blurry, but he was sure he couldn't mistake a skeleton walking in a well-tailored suit. 

"Skulduggery," He managed to mumble. Skulduggery looked outwards at someone in white. 

"Get Dr. Synecdoche, please." Dexter heard Skulduggery's voice clearing as he ended his sentence. Another person in white walked over, this time with something in their hands. The object neared Dexter's arm, and he tried his best to move away from it, but Skulduggery held him down. "It's okay." 

Dexter jolted up, and now noticed the doctor from the Irish Sanctuary was next to him with an empty syringe in her hand. Skulduggery was next to him, and he seemed unusually quiet.

"That dose of adrenaline should keep him going for awhile. I know you wanted to talk to him, so I'd recommend that you do that as fast as possible." Skulduggery walked to the door and held it open for Dexter. 

Skulduggery led him to an office and held the door for him again. This sign of common courtesy had an uncommon trait to it, but Dexter didn't know what it was. All he could think was that for some unknown reason, Skulduggery was being extraordinarily nice to him. Dexter sat down and then the silence was unbearable. 

"Skulduggery, what's the big deal? I don't understand why you're so quiet or why you couldn't just tell me whatever you're about in the Medical Bay." Dexter said.

"How much do you remember?" Skulduggery said after sitting down in the chair next to Dexter. 

"I'm not really sure." Dexter looked down at his hands. "I remember being on the ground. It-It was a field I think."

"We were there to fight Darquesse. I had the Sceptre and a clear shot and I should have fired, but I just couldn't. You grabbed the Sceptre from me and tried to fire, but Darquesse had turned around and she used necromancy to push you into a spiked wall. After that you lost consciousness. "

"What happened to Darquesse?" After Dexter asked, Skulduggery stayed quiet for a few moments.

"Valkyrie gained control for a moment and she ended it."

"You mean she-"

"Yes."

"Skulduggery, I'm so sorry. I know how much you cared about her. I'm so sorry this had to happen. And her parents-" Skulduggery held up his hand to silence Dexter.

"I let Stephanie leave as soon as Darquesse had taken over. She's been posing as Valkyrie ever since. Her parents have no idea she was ever in this world, let alone died." Skulduggery could see that Dexter wanted to continue the conversation, but Skulduggery knew he wouldn't be able to continue without releasing his anger. Also, he knew had to tell Dexter. "Dexter, there's something else we have to talk about."

"Wait." Dexter said, as he looked around more memories returned to him. "This is Saracen's office." His expression brightened. He remembered being in this office, his lips on Saracen's, Saracen's hands all over him. "Where is Saracen? I want to see him." Skulduggery's head lowered at the sight of Dexter's smile, unable to think of how to destroy his friend's hopes. 

"Dexter, that's what we needed to talk about." The somber tone in Skulduggery's voice marked bad news and the time in which Skulduggery had said this marked bad news about Saracen. "After you hit the wall, Saracen rushed over to you. You didn't just lose consciousness, Dexter, you died. Valkyire gained control a few times during the battle, and during one of those times, she healed you a few minutes after Saracen had left you. He made a suicidal move, an obvious mistake, and Darquesse gained control after that. She sliced him in half. I'm sorry, Dexter, but Saracen is dead."

***

Dexter's fingers pressed the play button of his answering machine, and the old recordings began to play. Dexter was too tired to skip to the most recent one.

"Dexter, it's Aurora. I know how hard this is on you. I know you're trying your best, but you've got to leave that apartment for something other than alcohol. Hopefully, Saracen's funeral will be a good excuse for that. Don't forget, it's on Sunday. If you need anything just call."

"This is just ridiculous. Dexter, you better be trying to be fashionably late." Aurora's recording voice seemed irritated.

"Okay, that's just wrong. You couldn't even pull it together for one day? You couldn't even attend his funeral? We were all there, and everyone was looking for you. I can't believe you Dexter." The recording of Aurora still seemed to be frustrated.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that last call. I know you're going through a really tough time. It's not easy to lose someone you love. Call me; we can get a coffee and talk this out."

"Dexter, it's Aurora. You can't just lock everyone out. It's been three years since Saracen died. I'm not saying you have to be over this, but you should step back into society every once and awhile."

"It's Aurora. It's been five years and well, everyone's given up on you, and I guess it's time to throw in the old towel, too. Tanith has learned how to keep her anger down and control the remnants of the Remnant." She paused to chuckle. "China's done an excellent job as Grand Mage. Skulduggery doesn't have a partner. I guess it was just too painful after Valkyrie. Stephanie visits every now and then, but she's not happy either. She told me that she notices how her parents really yearn for Valkyrie, not for Stephanie. They can notice the small personality changes and her parents really miss their daughter. This war really took an awful turn on everyone's life."

Dexter knew this would happen sooner than later, and he sat down on his couch. He reached his hand out and pulled a half empty whisky bottle off of his table. The movement caused a series of cluttering and clanging glass bottles. He reminisced about the day he had heard about Saracen's death.

He ran out of Saracen's office, tears blurring his vision. He ran through the streets of Roarhaven. People saw him on the street, saying how sorry they were for him. He shook his head as their condolences hit his ears. Saracen couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. Not after what he had said to him. Dexter needed to have spent more time with him, but now he couldn't. This had to be some sort of cosmic prank. 

But it wasn't it. And here he was, a decorated war hero, a respected sorcerer, a Dead Man, drinking in his apartment, that he hadn't left since last week, when he needed to refill his liquor cabinet, which was also his only source of nutrients. He didn't work for the Sanctuary anymore, and he hadn't even bothered to pay for his rent, so he assumed it was being paid for by Skulduggery. 

He hadn't seen any of his friends since the hospital or the battle, as he had met most of them through Saracen. He didn't like to leave his house, instead he preferred to wallow in self pity and hate, as a punishment. He knew the death of his love was his fault, of course. The memories of the entirety of the battle with Darquesse had returned to him a few days after he ran from the hospital. He remembered his last moment with Saracen, but he also remembered the reckless way Saracen had given away his position when he tried to sneak up on Darquesse. He knew that Saracen had done this on purpose, he knew that he must have thought that he couldn't live without Dexter. Now the tides had turned and it was Dexter who had to live without his love.

He thinks of the centuries he had known Saracen for, and how he had never told him how he felt. He rues the days that they could have spent together doing all of the things that they now couldn't. Dexter laughs bitterly at the stupid joke he made, and continues to imagine Saracen in a kitchen.

Saracen stood at the counter mixing the batter for the waffles. Dexter walked into the kitchen, and stared at Saracen. "I didn't know we had a waffle maker." 

"Oh I just bought this because you like waffles." Saracen said. Dexter laughed.

"I don't like waffles. I think pancakes are better, to be honest. Anyway, even if I did like waffles, wouldn't I already have one?"

Saracen stopped mixing to absorb this logic, and then took a moment to think up a good counter argument. "Shut up." Dexter laughed again and helped Saracen pour the thick liquid in the waffle maker.

A tear slid down Dexter's cheek, upset with himself for never having told Saracen before.

He puts the bottle to his lips and turns it upside down. He places it on the table, and reaches for the closest bottle. He drinks the bottle as fast as he can, to make the image of Saracen wash away. "I'm sorry, Saracen!" The image doesn't go away, and Dexter continues to drink the whole bottle. He grabs bottle after bottle, the madness of being alone mixing poisonously with the substantial amount of alcohol. His vision starts to blur, and he can suddenly hear Saracen's voice faintly, saying "I love you, Dexter.", he almost hear him, too. Dexter looked out with a faint smile playing on his lips, and thought weakly, "I'm almost there, Saracen. I can see you. I can finally see you after all these years."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was the last chapter. I hope everyone who read this could and will take just a moment of their time to write a small review in the comments. Also, any of you who may have felt extremely emotional I would love to know, because, just like Derek Landy, I feed off of the tears of my readers. Again, I would love for this fanifc to be remembered and read, so I will be putting this on An Archive of Our Own. Also, just tell people about this story, if you can. 
> 
> I would like to thank everyone for reading this, as this story would not have been continued if some of you (you know who you are) hadn't commented and asked for the story to be updated. That's how we've come this far. So I'd just like to thank all of you for this.
> 
> Morbid


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